In my work, I sometimes prescribe weight loss medications.
They are not currently covered under many local insurance policies. Although the hospital insurance plan was covering them for a short time, coverage will end very soon. However, for the cash-paying patient, they can now cost “only” $500 per month.
I don’t particularly want to talk about whether or not injectable medication for weight loss is a good or a bad thing, or about the cost of medications in the US, or whether or not healthcare coverage for obesity management meets your favor.
What I do want to talk about (briefly) is the wiggle room in some budgets.
I totally get that many people I see do not have an extra $500 per month in their budget, nor would I expect them to. I am quite sure that the secretaries, nursing assistants, and various other people who make our offices and hospitals run would love to see even an extra $200 per month in their paycheck.
On the other hand, physicians make a lot more. Much more.
Even academic doctors, whose salary (according to one site I visited) is 40-50% less than the average non-academic physician, are paid a little over $200,000 per year. At this salary range, paying $500 per month for something you value seems like it might be possible.
And yet.
Last week I saw two doctors who very much wanted to be on these medications.
One, who I presume to have a much higher than average salary given their specialty, could not afford to pay out of pocket. Their money was already fully accounted for.
The other physician, in a much lower paying specialty, can absolutely find the cash in their budget to cover a medication that they find so important to their health.
Again, I do not mean to point any fingers. The higher paid physician mentioned multiple children as a big factor in not having more available income. I can’t really fault them for taking care of their children.
What I will say, though, is that spending all your available income can leave you in a pickle when unexpected expenses crop up.
Also, it is totally possible to save money on a lower salary OR to spend everything you earn on a higher one.
It’s not really the amount of money you earn that makes the difference in building wealth, but the decision to save.
Like so many things in life, we make choices about how we spend our money. My husband and I are both savers, and we carefully think through all our spending. There are many things we could afford to buy, but don’t because they don’t align with our priorities. I think the biggest problem with money is many people have NO idea where their money goes.
True, I think many people don’t really know where their money goes. However, I also think that making a habit of saving some off the top provides people with more options. Someone may know to the penny where they spend their money, but if they only have $1 left over once they have paid their bills, they can’t manage financial surprises.
I completely agree. I spent my career promoting and educating on workplace plans and saving by payroll deduction. Yes many people don’t participate, even when there’s an employer match involved.